Awakening From Ashes

Chapter 1: Nightmares

Lucas sat in the living room playing with his chewed-out toy trucks and a smile on his face. He could hear his mother’s angelic voice singing to him while she bent down and scrubbed the mansion floor with a small brush. It was quiet and times like these were rare but like always, when they had some semblance of peace, the man who called himself Lucas’s father would barge in and destroy it.

The doors flew open, making a banging sound as they came in contact with the wall. Lucas and his mother flinched at the sound, sure that another beating would follow. 

Like clockwork, he dropped his toys and rushed over to his mother, who grabbed him and wrapped her arms around him, shielding him from this monster of a man. She waved her hand over the water on the floor and like a scene out of Avatar, the water rose up and entered the bucket next to her, cleaning up the mess.

Lucas’s father, Mark Graham, one of the wealthiest men in the world, walked into the room with a sneer on his face and a woman with golden blond hair on his arm. 

“Papa.” Like a child, Lucas called out to him and tried to meet him but his mother’s grip was firm. She didn’t want him anywhere near his father. So Lucas stayed put. His father glared at him, narrowing his eyes in contempt before his mother spoke.

“Honey, welcome home,” his mother said with a small bow.

“Is she your guest? I can bring some refreshments if you like. What do you want?” his mother asked, standing up from the floor and straightening her cheap gown, her eyes on the unknown woman. 

“Tch. You’re still here,” his father said, grimacing. He didn’t like Lucas and his mother around him. He always made that clear.

“Well, since you’re here, I want you to take your brat of a child and leave,” Mark said with conviction.

Lucas’s mother cocked her head in confusion and disbelief. “What?” she whispered, her body beginning to tremble. 

“You heard me, Marrisa. Take that runt and leave this house.” 

“Why would you say such a thing? I am your wife. Lucas is your son,” she questioned Mark as she held onto Lucas tightly.

“I don’t need a son who hasn’t gotten his gifts yet. You call him a son but we all know that he’s nothing more than a disgrace. A stain to the Graham name and legacy.”

“Mark, please,” Marrisa begged, her kind eyes dimming and her mouth quivering. Normally she would do whatever he asked but this was the one thing she was willing to fight for.

“Oh, don’t try to beg him. His mind’s already made up. We don’t want the likes of you anywhere near us,” the mystery woman spoke up, inserting herself into the conversation with her nose turned up at Lucas and his mother.

Marrisa turned to her, her brows furrowed in confusion.

“That’s right. You might not know who I am. Typical from the likes of you,” the woman said as she rolled her eyes. “My name is Emilia Lockhart. One of the daughters of the Lockhart royal family and now the woman of this mansion.”

“You can’t be serious!” Lucas’s mother exclaimed as Emilia looked down on both of them condescendingly. When the man didn’t utter a word, Marrisa spoke again. 

“Mark.”

He still didn’t say a word. Instead, he turned away from Marrisa and Lucas like they were the plague. 

“You brought back a mistress after everything I’ve done for you. After how loyal I’ve been to you. Why would you do this to me? I thought you loved me?” Marrisa screamed. 

Mark scoffed and finally answered her. 

“Do what to you? Love you? You are a nobody that I picked off the streets and gave a better life after your own family has thrown you away. I asked for one thing in return. A child to carry my legacy and even then, you couldn’t provide that.”

“Look at him,” he continued, pointing to Lucas. “You gave me an insignificant worm to carry my name. A giftless and snubbed child. How would someone like this be accepted in public as my son when he doesn’t even have any gift? No matter, I already have a son now and with the combined gifts of his mother and I, he is the one who shall inherit everything I own.”

Just then, Emilia pulled a child from behind her. It was a boy with blonde locks and blue eyes. He was a perfect copy of Mark, unlike Lucas who had brown hair like his mother and his father’s signature blue eyes. He looked to be about Lucas’s age but what differentiated him from Lucas was the look of annoyance and disgust he had on his face when his eyes landed on Lucas.

“You have another child,” Marrisa muttered, more in realization than in the form of a question. Her hand shot up to her mouth when she realized that he had been having an affair for the longest time. 

Mark placed his hands on the boy’s shoulders, something that he’d never done to Lucas, and smiled. 

“This child possesses the elemental gift of fire just like me. He, Tobias, will be my heir.”

“It isn’t fair. Lucas is your son too.” Marrisa argued, not backing down.

“Shut up. I wasted my time and resources on both of you. Not anymore. I want both of you gone.”

“Mark…” Marrisa began but was cut off when a slap landed across her face. She hadn’t even seen Emilia get close to her.

“You don’t have the right to call him by his given name. Get out you wench.” Emilia warned, as she took several steps back.

“Please,” Marrisa said again to Mark, her eyes pleading profusely. She fell to the ground and knelt before him, her face touching the ground beneath his feet, begging him.

“I’ll step away from the marriage. Just please allow Lucas and I to stay here. In the staff room. The stables, even. Just please don’t throw us out,” Marrisa begged.

“Didn’t you hear him? Get out!” Emilia shouted, moving a step closer to Marrisa, a dangerous flame flickering in her hands due to her gift, but Mark stopped her.

“Don’t bother, Emilia. They're not worth the burn.”

“Security,” Mark shouted. 

A few seconds later, four bulky men dressed in black from head to toe walked into the room and stood behind him.

“Throw them out,” he ordered them.

Before he could blink, Lucas’s body was off the ground. He turned to see his mother screaming and begging as they pulled her up by her hair and hands and dragged her along. Her voice, once melodious and calm, was now shrill and scared. 

The last thing Lucas saw before the doors closed on him was the look on his father's and his new family’s faces as they smirked in contentment at he and his mother’s disgrace. 

The last thought he had was spent wondering what his father had called him. Giftless. 

Was that what he would be for the rest of his life? Someone with no place in society? With one last look and a bid for a scream, the doors closed and hot flames swallowed him whole.

***

Lucas sat up from his bed, sweat dripping all over his body and his shoulder length brown hair clinging to his neck. 

“F*ck.” He whispered under his breath.

The same dream again. 

Lucas placed his head in his hands as the sweat dropped down his chest and rubbed his face. He needed some air, so he got up from his bed and walked out into the hallway, careful not to wake his mother up. He got to the door and walked out of his small and modest home, allowing the chill night air to calm his nerves.

Eleven years had gone by. Eleven years since Lucas’s father threw him and his mother out when he had just turned ten years old. Years since he and his mother had to run off to this remote town. All because he hadn’t awakened yet. All because his father had a b*st*rd child who had gotten his gifts before Lucas. 

It had been years but still, the thought of it haunted Lucas in his dreams. What were the chances that he was still being plagued by the memory of that night? 

He sighed and brought his hands to his mouth, rubbing them together before he snapped his fingers and a fire ignited on his index finger.

“Whatever. It doesn’t matter now,” he muttered under his breath before he shook his finger, extinguishing the flames.

Lucas had gotten his gifts when he turned twelve, later than any person in the world. Everyone else got theirs when they turned five but he was a late bloomer. Something his father didn’t even care to know. 

He shook his head, clearing the thoughts away. Like he said before, it didn’t matter. Mark had condemned his son. Lucas hadn’t seen the man in eleven years. He was not going to continue allowing his memory of him to affect his life. Not now, when he had a stable life, a town that respected him, a healthy and caring mother and not to mention a girlfriend. 

He smiled, the thought of his girlfriend making him happy. He didn’t need to be out here, not when he had a surprise proposal to plan. 

Lucas looked up at the moon for a moment before he ran his hand through his hair and went back into the house, his mind determined to get one thing right. To make Nicole his wife.